Q: Is the iPhone going to Verizon, and should I switch carriers when it does?

A: Well, it looks like it’s finally going to happen. all signs point to AT&T losing their exclusivity to the iPhone this next year. The pundits say that it should happen in the first quarter of 2011. Probably by March.

But that doesn’t solve or answer the big questions. In fact, it brings up even more questions than it answers. We all know the problems… AT&T was recently rated the worst network carrier in the US. AT&T is the number one complaint you will hear from any existing iPhone owners. But what you don’t know is that AT&T has been a leader in wireless technology for the last several years. They had to bare the brunt of the massive amount of data usage that iPhone owners use. Since 2007 when the iPhone was first released to present day, AT&T saw a data usage increase of over 5000%. That’s a mighty big increase in usage. No wonder AT&T got so many complaints. They were handling a cutting edge, next generation phone the likes of which no one on the planet had ever experienced before.

Over that time, AT&T left behind their 2G network, created and deployed a massive 3G network with massive increase in data download speeds. But that didn’t solve the continued voice issues and dropped calls that AT&T was being criticized for. So the desire for a Verizon iPhone was born and cultivated, year after year. But is it the right network to manage this cutting edge phone?

AT&T may have the worst carrier rating, but it has the best customer service rating. Guess who has the worst customer service rating? You guessed it… Verizon.

Also, AT&T has now had a few years to build up their 3G network. Verizon never had a 3G network. Instead, they are launching a brand new, totally untested 4G network just in time for the iPhone to arrive. Sounds like AT&T’s mistake all over again.

So for the real answer to this question, I’ll ask myself, “MacWhisperer, will you switch to Verizon when the iPhone gets there?”. And my answer? Absolutely not. I can’t wait for the iphone to go to Verizon, so that half of AT&T’s iphone users defect to Verizon, and AT&T’s network gets some much needed relief. I want to wait out the first wave of Verizon’s iPhone deluge. In addition to AT&T users, all the Verizon users who are on blackberries and droids, but really wanted an iPhone will switch too. Then all the other users on other carriers who wanted the iPhone, but hated AT&T will move over. And then we will see who has the worst network.

Verizon’s voice network is the best, but their data network is largely untested by the biggest network users… iPhone owners. I don’t plan to being their guinea pig.

But that being said, I pride myself on one trait… FLEXIBILITY!!!! So if Verizon’s network is better, and the reviews start talking about their amazing service and their happy clientele, I’ll be the first to switch…. But not just because they bought some hype, and media time… Because they have proven themselves to be the best.